By Rhiannon Hoyle
Rio Tinto reported an 11% increase in its copper output in 2025, surpassing guidance to investors, and said iron-ore shipments from its Australian mines were only slightly lower following record output in the final quarter of the year.
The world's second-biggest miner by market value said that, on the whole, group production was 8% higher than in 2024, while shipments of the commodities it mines rose by 5%.
Rio Tinto has been investing in metals such as copper and lithium, seeking to lessen its reliance on steelmaking commodity iron ore for the bulk of its profits. It expects demand for those metals to rise sharply over the coming decades, fueled by growth in electric vehicles and renewable energy.
Earlier this month, Rio Tinto said it was in talks with Glencore about a deal that could create the world's largest mining company with a market value of more than $200 billion, as a scramble for copper and other metals drives a return to big acquisitions. The miner did not address the negotiations in its quarterly report Wednesday.
Under U.K. takeover rules, Rio Tinto has until Feb. 5 to confirm whether it will make an offer for Glencore or walk away for six months.
Rio Tinto said it produced 883,000 metric tons of copper last year, exceeding its own forecast of between 860,000 and 875,000 tons. Fourth-quarter copper output was 5% higher on-year at 240,000 tons.
Growth in the copper business was underpinned by rising production from the Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia, where Rio Tinto recently completed an underground expansion. It comes as prices for the industrial metal trade at a record high, fueled by solid demand and several supply disruptions.
The global economy also "remains resilient despite persistent shocks," Rio Tinto said. Inflation pressures continue to ease globally and the U.S. economy has held up well despite the record-long government shutdown, it said.
In its lucrative iron-ore business, Rio Tinto said operations in Australia's Pilbara mining region recovered well following disruptions from cyclones during the first few months of 2025.
"We achieved record quarterly iron ore production in the Pilbara, with a strong recovery from the extreme weather interruptions earlier in the year," said Simon Trott, who became chief executive in August after running the company's iron-ore business for several years.
Fourth-quarter shipments from the Pilbara were 7% higher year over year, at 91.3 million tons, while output rose by 4% to 89.7 million tons.
Rio Tinto said it shipped 326.2 million tons of iron ore from those operations last year, down 1% on 2024. The miner previously said shipments would be at the lower end of a 323 million-338 million ton guidance range.
Write to Rhiannon Hoyle at rhiannon.hoyle@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
01-20-26 1822ET
